ROAD TRIP: A Northerner's Exploration of the Dirty, Dirty!
Part Two: Apollo Beach and Athens
Apollo Beach
Our second destination was Apollo Beach, Florida!
So...ok, it rained the 75% of the time we were there - and, yeah, we chilled in the immaculately clean mall for a while, but we had a BLAST. One of Joel's buddies lives in Apollo Beach - so he gave us an insiders tour. We drove around the city most of the afternoon Monday and spent time relaxing Monday night.
On Tuesday we ate lunch at an awesome Moe's-like (but way better...) mexican joint called Tijuana Flats. Our initial plan was to check out Grain Alcohol Alley...no wait, I meant Everclear Avenue...no no, Sloppy at Slushy Joe's...NO! I remember, Wet Willy's - where the Alcohol is Ever-clear (har har) and Ever-pouring! Instead, we went to a charming resort bar right on the Gulf called Little Harbor Tiki Bar, drank tropical-esque drinks (coronas, mojitos, and kickin' Gatorades!) and enjoyed the breeze off the water and the enormous pre-mesozoic bugs...
Even though Florida wasn't Always Sunny - the warmth, relaxation, and general fun-having was worth it.
Athens
Athens, Georgia was an after thought in the traveling plans. Our cluster-fucky style of planning lent itself to neglecting the fact that Apollo Beach was 12 full hours away from Asheville. "No worries," my Charleston friend proclaimed, "you guys should just check out Athens on your way up!" So we made shotgun reservations in Athens, Georgia with very little knowledge of it's nature. Athens is a college town - home to University of Georgia and Uga (the bulldog mascot). We got there and, realizing it was the home to Terrapin Beer Co., dropped everything and hustled across town. We caught the final tour of the evening around 7 p.m., given by a hilarious 23-year-old Georgian brewery volunteer. This guy was all over the craft beer concept. He gave us the brewery's history, discussed the history of beer in Georgia, talked about the process of brewing, and delivered his general/inspiring love of Terrapin.
The actual brewery was an open warehouse (as usual) but with a colorful and trendy twist. They hosted live music, had a wonderful outdoor grove, and an arsenal of volunteers willing to chatter and inform about Terrapin. The beers of the day included Golden Ale, Rye Pale Ale, Rye Squared, Hopsecutioner, Hop Karma, Big Hoppy Monster, Sunray Wheat, Monks Revenge, and Tom Foolery (Side Project #14). The Rye Pale Ale is there Flagship beer (it won the American Pale Ale Gold Medal in 2002 at the Great American Beer Fest in Denver, CO) and it was truly excellent. Drinkable, flavorful, but not overwhelming - a simple delight. The Golden Ale was not as pleasing to my palate - granted, I am not a as partial to these light styles by craft brewers (it's usually not their bag). Monks Revenge was slamming - high octane, huge taste, beautiful color - but not something to drink during a lunch break. And naturally the Big Hop Monster is a great hop-head classic. After 7 or 8 samples and a handful of old labels (given to us by the lovely gift shop ladies), we were in great shape to head over to our next feat - The Royal Peasant Pub.
The Royal Peasant Pub is the local Athens soccer bar. Filled with British-ex pats and small town local soccer players, the atmosphere was bang-on! We ordered two beers and three entrees, and only paid about $35 bucks! A Great Divide DPA (Denver Pale Ale) and a (second installment of) Terrapin Rye accompanied our Peasant Food English Blue Crisps (hand-cut potato chips with a blue cheese dressing and bacon...ah!), Royal Lamb Vindaloo Curry, and classic Fish & Chips. No disrespect to Stoney's and Go Fish!, but these guys served the finest, flakiest, lightest, Fish & Chips I've ever had. The julienned
fries and lemon/dill mayo were such incredible accomplices. The friendly on TV between Guana and England added another wonderfully British element to the experience. We got stuffed and were pleased as punch by the time we left.
In the morning, we made our way to a local diner (of sorts) called Mama's Boy. This 1980's style Low Country diner served drinks in jars (something I absolutely adore) and offered fried chicken for breakfast. Listening to Alphaville and enjoying a cup of Jittery Joe's coffee helped get my day started right! We enjoyed fried catfish with grits and black eyed peas and the buttermilk fried chicken with mashed taters and green beans along with complimentary biscuits, breakfast of champions.
Our spontaneous trip to Athens ended up being a great addition and an integral part of our culinary tour of the South!
ROAD TRIP: A Northerner's Exploration of the Dirty, Dirty!
Projected Itinerary: Charleston, SC to Apollo Beach, FL to Asheville, NC
Actual Itinerary: Georgetown, SC to Charleston, SC to Apollo Beach, FL to Athens, GA to Asheville, NC
Part One: Charleston
Our trip to Charleston began quite slowly...3 and 1/2 hour delay between Baltimore and D.C. - we ended up in Georgetown over night Friday, and on our way to Charleston Saturday (already a night behind!).
One of my best girlfriends lives in Charleston (as you may recall from a previous entry...) and, to my surprise, she effectively helped me to re-evaluated my previous opinion on the place. Charleston happens to be very lovely and a ton a fun!
We got there on Saturday and headed straight out to the newest brewery in town. Westbrook Brewing Co. is located about 10 minutes outside Charleston in Mt. Pleasant (Go Green Knights!). It's brand spankin' new - and it smelled like it: refreshingly clean, new wood scented, immaculately undamaged bar. Pretty convivial tasting room - complete with handsome brewmaster, sorority-style barmaids, and a Neil Patrick-Harris look-a-like busboy. We waited patiently for the next tour to depart. The handsome brewmaster summoned the tourists to the a door leading from the tasting room into a sterile, warehouse-like brewery. His passion and knowledge about brewing was delightful and very informative. The tour was fun, interactive, and educational (can't ask for much more than that). This guy - Smith Mathews - has the potential to do some really great things with this place. He's seems to be a super-creative guy (being an adamant home-brewer before his endeavors as a master) explaining to the tour members the process of how he decides flavors combination and brewing inspiration! As I write, he's working on brewing a test batch of an ultra-spiced red Flemish ale! This is going to be spot to watch in the next couple of years.
As for their beers, definitely some good foundation ales - but technique is still being developed. The IPA is reminiscent of a sessioned-down 60-minute. A little lighter, not as bold, but super tasty and drinkable. The Oatmeal Stout on the other hand was a little too burnt, a little too bitter, and a little not oatmealy.....weird. But it seems to me these guys are just getting started on these quirkier styles - White Thai was pretty neat tasting and different with Coriander, Orange, and Cardamom. All-in-all, our experience at this new and upcoming brewery was excellent.
When we got back into town, Jes gave us the walking tour of Charleston proper. We parked down town and our first stop (primarily in search of the closest bathroom) was Baked - a quasi-famous bakery and coffee shop on East Bay street. We had a great shot of espresso, a marginal whoopie pie, and a DELECTABLE Sea Salt Brownie (officially called Sweet & Salty Brownie).
After our desert, we searched for dinner. Jestine's Kitchen, on the corner of Meeting and Wentworth Streets, found us well. The small, quaint atmosphere put me in the mood for the SOUTHAN COOKIN'! The joint seemed pretty popular as the method of seating was typical of a crowded Newark bar - one in, one out. The line wrapped around the corner while the dinner hour approached. We sat and within minutes, our table was populated food I'd only seen in a magazines (or watched movies about...): fried green tomatoes, hush puppies (REAL ONES), sweat tea, collard greens, vinegar garlic pepper sauce, grits! An excellent introduction to what was on the menu for the next week.
Dinner ended abruptly - as we planned our escape before the rain started up again - and on our way back to the car, we stopped in a great beer store. Called The Exchange, the store was chocked full of Terrapin, Mikkeller, New Belgium, and Fat Tire. My friend, who is commissioning a book on the history of brewing in Charleston, engaged the owner in a conversation about the history of his store. He told us stories of hidden tunnels, speakeasies, and where the first shot of the Civil War was shot. Pretty exciting stuff. We bought a few Ranger IPAs, 2 cans of G'Knight, 2 Fat Tires, a Full Sail IPA, a Big Worse bomber.
We did make it out to a local watering hole. Closed for Business had an incredible tap list. We enjoyed Terrapin's Big Hoppy Monster (Imperial Red Ale) and Big Vladdy Daddy (Russian Imperial Stout, aduh!) followed by a New Belgium Mighty Arrow (so effing good).
On Sunday we ate brunch (by suggestion of Anthony Bourdain and our hostess) at Hominy Grill. The huevos rancheros, though sending my stomach into an uproar, was wildly good. A successful brunch was followed by an equally successful (and historical!) trip to Fort Sum(p)t(n)er. And the day was closed with a slice and Dale's Pale Ale at Mellow Mushroom.
Charleston...
A City That Isn't As Shitty As I Thought :)
THANKS JES!!!! <3
The actual brewery was an open warehouse (as usual) but with a colorful and trendy twist. They hosted live music, had a wonderful outdoor grove, and an arsenal of volunteers willing to chatter and inform about Terrapin. The beers of the day included Golden Ale, Rye Pale Ale, Rye Squared, Hopsecutioner, Hop Karma, Big Hoppy Monster, Sunray Wheat, Monks Revenge, and Tom Foolery (Side Project #14). The Rye Pale Ale is there Flagship beer (it won the American Pale Ale Gold Medal in 2002 at the Great American Beer Fest in Denver, CO) and it was truly excellent. Drinkable, flavorful, but not overwhelming - a simple delight. The Golden Ale was not as pleasing to my palate - granted, I am not a as partial to these light styles by craft brewers (it's usually not their bag). Monks Revenge was slamming - high octane, huge taste, beautiful color - but not something to drink during a lunch break. And naturally the Big Hop Monster is a great hop-head classic. After 7 or 8 samples and a handful of old labels (given to us by the lovely gift shop ladies), we were in great shape to head over to our next feat - The Royal Peasant Pub.
Our spontaneous trip to Athens ended up being a great addition and an integral part of our culinary tour of the South!
